Fall From Grace
by RiverNox
Summary: When listening to the album Fall From Grace by Paloma Faith I had the best idea for a fic. So I decided I would use every song as a chapter and challenge myself to write the fiction. When Hermione Starts feeling like she's not good enough for Bill, will have be able to take it?
1. Picking Up The Pieces

The room was quiet. Nothing but the sound of the conversation emerging from Bill and the roar of the fire was filling Hermione's ears. He could tell by the look in her eyes, that something wasn't right. But honestly, something hadn't been right for a while now. Things weren't like they used to be. She seemed, lost. The Hermione he knew wasn't there anymore. He didn't ask, didn't question what was wrong with her, because he always got the same answer

"Nothing, I'm fine"

They'd been together for about 9 months now. Not the longest of relationships, not by a long shot, but it was one of envy for most people.

Bill and Fleur had been divorced for only a year now. Things were lost between them. Things weren't how they should have been. They had been married to each other for about 3 years. When they divorced, they stayed friends. They stayed close, still worked together and for that fact Bill was grateful. They tried their hardest to stay in contact. Every now and then after work they, would go out for a meal. They would maybe go out into muggle London and Bill would show her around, as she still wasn't very accustomed to English ways and it was always funny watching her get flustered over how to read the menus at different restaurants, but it wasn't always that easy. It didn't start like this when they divorced.

Bill had been a mess. He was lost, not knowing what he would do without the wife that had stood by his side. The woman that looked after him after his attack, the one that looked after him while his family was going through a hard time with Percy, the one that would comfort him after his brother was taken into St. Mungos after the attack in the war and the one woman that fought for him and fought with him through the hardest times in their lives.

He found his comfort in one witch, one woman. Hermione Granger.

The two had been inseparable since a dinner at the burrow in early spring. They had started discussing one of their favourite books and from there on, the conversation bloomed onto favourite spells, then moved on to their favourite time at Hogwarts, then to their dreams for their future.

Bill was at the age of 29 during this conversation and he'd been divorced for a month. Things weren't perfect for the half wolf, but things were getting better, slowly. He'd talked to Hermione about how he wished to one day truly find somebody he could be with, someone he could love. Of course he

loved Fleur, he did so with all of his heart, but something was always missing, something that he couldn't seem to find. He told her his ambitions of moving up in his job and how that could be happening any time soon. The goblins, even though stone at heart, always seemed to have a little soft spot for him and seemed to be hinting on a promotion.

Hermione's side of what she wanted with her life was very similar, but at the same time very different to Bill's. She too wanted to find love, like all 23 year old women do, but she wasn't looking for it any time soon. She wanted to wait and let him find her. She also wished for a high rise job. She was already very high up in her respected field at the Ministry Of Magic, but she had only just been promoted, so chances of her getting another one any time soon were far from probable.

This conversation had gone on far into the night. Little did they both realise that The Burrow had emptied and everybody seemed to have gone off to bed.

Hermione wondered why nobody had stopped their conversation and made them to go up to bed. Something Mrs. Weasley was known too well for doing, but at the same point she didn't really mind. It had been such a long time since she'd been in a conversation with a handsome man, that was about something intelligent and not about his morning beauty treatments.

Hermione wasn't shy to a relationship, not at all, not in the slightest. She had been on many dates with many different wizards. None of them however seemed to end up in a healthy relationship, though all of them seemed to crash and burn, but being Hermione, she never let it affect her life or the way she acted with her friends. She was always strong. If something happened, She knew there would be a reason for it.

But here they were, no more than 11 months later. Both a year older, in a happy enviable relationship.

But something wasn't right.

Bill could see she was slowly drifting away into her thoughts. He tried to ignore it. Pretending that everything was fine, the way he wished it was but he couldn't. He couldn't ignore the sadness in her eyes. It pained him to see it. He looked at her, wondering if he should try just one more time and see if she would finally give in and tell him what had been bothering her so much for the past few weeks, but he didn't. He did what he usually does. He gave her a kiss on the cheek, told her he loved her and

left for bed. Leaving a seemingly empty but frustrated young Hermione to her thoughts again. The same thought that had been haunting her for the past few weeks.

Hermione stood. The room was so dark she couldn't see much. The only thing lighting the room was the fire that was in front of her. She didn't really understand how her and Bill had stayed up this late in conversation. Then the guilty feeling of realising she had no idea what the conversation was actually about came and honestly, she couldn't actually remember what a lot of their recent conversations were about. All she could think of when it came to their relationship as of the past month was the pain and the feeling she had now. She couldn't shake it, couldn't rid the feeling that was going through her no matter how much she told herself she was being ridiculous. No matter how much she told herself these feelings were nothing but her own insecurities shining through and no matter how painful it felt, she tried to be strong, but when it came to the dark, empty living room she'd been spending most nights in, the strength always seemed to vanish.

She walked over to a set of drawers that were placed to the right of the fire. She cast Lumos to her wand, opened the drawer and started rooting through it.

She lowered her wand so she could search the drawer a bit more thoroughly, pushing the little bits of stuff to one side until she found what she was searching for and she did. She found it. She pulled it out and held it. Moving back to the sofa that her and Bill had been conversing on she sat back down, her legs crossed. She pulled the sheet that had previously been over the back of the sofa, that was always there for when she would spend her night out of her bed, on this very same sofa doing this very same thing.

She covered her legs with the sheet and looked down to what she had been holding, an old picture frame. She looked down at it and couldn't help but smile. She always smiled when she looked at the picture, but she never understood the smile that presented her. This wasn't meant to be a happy thing for her to look at. This was a picture of Bill yes, but this was a picture of Bill and his Ex-wife. The smile on his face so wide, so real. One that she didn't know if he could produce anymore and then they came, she wondered when they would. It wasn't often that they didn't come. She could feel them falling down her face. She wiped them away, but of course they kept on coming. She couldn't help it, she didn't want to cry, but seeing how happy Bill was with Fleur, knowing that he still spends nights after work with her, knowing how beautiful and perfect she was, made her feel so small.

Hermione had been doubting Bill's love for her lately. Well no, she hadn't. She knew he loved her and she knew he would do everything for her, but she just couldn't see that love in his eyes that she used to see when he was with Fleur, looking at her across the table when they had dinner together at the burrow. She missed that look in his eyes.

She looked at the picture of Fleur.

"Perfect, flawless."

Hermione mumbled to herself, how she envied Fleur's beauty and the worst part was, she was never a mean woman. She had her airs and graces but, Hermione had hers as well, just like most people in the world do.

Her and Bill split due to differences in their lives. They didn't split because they had fallen out of love, or because they didn't like each other anymore, something that Hermione just couldn't get out of her head. She couldn't seem to shake the feeling that if it wasn't for these life differences, Bill and Fleur would still be happy and very much together.

Hermione looked around the room and remembered all the things her and Bill would do together when she first moved in with him. When they used to walk through the door after it had been raining, when they would laugh with each other walking down the stairs in the morning, after they had had a hilarious night of watching movies together, or when they would sit on the floor in front of the fire, just talking as they usually did, but one thing was different in these memories. The girl Hermione was picturing wasn't herself, she pictured Bill with Fleur.

In this little world, she always thought Bill looked happier when it was Fleur and not her. She always thought that maybe when Bill thought back at his times with Hermione, this is what he saw as well. Did Bill picture himself with Fleur even when he was with Hermione?

Hermione couldn't help but think that maybe all she were to Bill, was the girl who would pick up the pieces of his broken down marriage, but maybe that's not what Bill thought at all, maybe that's just what Hermione though about herself.

She looked back down at the picture of the two of them and smiled yet again. The smile she always gave when she saw Bill feeling truly happy. It may only have been 9 months they had been together, but she knew she loved him, knew she would give everything to see him happy, she just wasn't sure what would make him happy. He always said he loved her and wanted to be with her and that he was more than amazed and happy to be with a girl as clever as Hermione, but how could he prefer her over Fleur? The beautiful, French Veela, or the bushy haired brattish book worm. Hermione knew

who she'd pick if she were him and she knew who most other men would pick as well and she knew it wasn't her.

Hermione was starting to make herself mad. The thought that Bill were maybe just using her for his own ego, maybe he was with her to show Fleur that he'd moved on? Maybe he was with her so people couldn't see just how damaged he was? Or maybe, just maybe, she was thinking all this so she could hide the real reason things weren't going well in the relationship, that reason being that she never thought she could live up to Bill's ex-veela.

But at this point, Hermione wasn't thinking straight. She couldn't bring herself to think clearly, she was mad and she needed to get her head straight.

She went back to the drawer she had retrieved the picture frame from and pushed her hand in, trying to find something else. Her movement was getting shaky from rage and heart ache. She pulled out some clear parchment and placed it on the sofa while she walked across to the other side of the dimly lit room, still with her wand lighting the way.

When she strode across the room, she walked over to the window. In the middle of the wall, underneath it was a writing desk. This was obviously her main goal when she was walking over, but when she got there, she didn't acknowledge the desk at all. Instead she gazed out of the window, looking ever so pale and empty. The same look she had unconsciously given Bill while they were talking earlier.

There was nothing different or out of the ordinary when she looked out there. It was raining, heavily. The garden was dark, as it must have been round about midnight. Puddles forming in the grass, but everything still looked moderately beautiful. The tree that was just outside her window wasn't moving, suggesting that even though the rain was crashing down outside, the wind was nowhere to be seen.

Hermione's favourite kind of weather.

She looked back down to the desk and picked up a quill, the obvious reason she had gone to that part of the room in the first place and walked back to pick up the parchment she had left on the sofa. She went back to the desk and sat down and started to write something on the parchment.

"Do you wish I was a bit more like her? Bill, I hope you don't see me as the girl who will sort out all your problems, because I can't do it. Do you still love Fleur? I can't be her shadow anymore. Are we liars in denial? Are we smoke without the fire? Tell me please. Is this worth it? Do I deserve it?"

Hermione's eyes were flooded in tears, her anger willing her to pour her heart into this letter.

''She's gone and I'm picking up the pieces. I watched you cry, but you don't see that I'm the one by your side. All that's left is you and I and I'm picking up the pieces she left behind. I'm picking up the pieces of your broken heart; I need somebody to save me."

The parchment, now getting wet from the tears that left her eyes, falling onto the table, Hermione isn't sure of what she's writing anymore. She doesn't even know if she actually believes what she's writing, but it's helping her, so she doesn't stop.

"I remember when you and Fleur divorced. The heartbreak you were in, you cried every night, I was there, and I was by your side. I looked after you whenever I could; I've always been here Bill, why don't you look at me the way you used to look at her? Why do you tell me you love me, but then don't show it when you look at me? I miss that look of love I used to see in your eyes when you were with her, but I wish I could see it when you looked at me. I just can't, it was never there. How could I be so foolish to get with you so soon after what had happened to you? We were naïve and stupid. I love you so much William, I really do, but something isn't right. I'm not sure when I'll be back; I need to clear my head."

Hermione picked up the letter she had written and re-read it. She was crying so hard now and every word she had written had made her heart ache more and more.

She placed the letter onto the sofa and grabbed her coat. She wasn't really sure of where she was going to go, what she was going to do, or what leaving the house at this time of night with the weather so dismal was going to get her. But then again, when you don't know what you're trying to find, you can't really be picky about where you're going to find it. She looked out the window one last time before leaving the house. She looked at the rain falling to the ground and touched her hair, knowing how wet she was going to be when she left, wondering if she should put it up to stop it from being a complete nightmare.

She went into the kitchen and picked up a leather strap that Bill had taken out of his hair and left there after work. She used it to tie her hair up into a messy bun. There's only so neat you can get

your hair when you use a leather strap after all and even though it looked messy, she didn't really care. She wasn't leaving the house in a bit to find a boyfriend, she was leaving the house to clear her head and find peace in her mind.

She walked over to the front door and opened it. As soon as she did, all she could hear was the rain pouring down and hitting the floor. That brilliant and calming sound of the rain always helped her out. It was so loud that she didn't know if she'd be able to hear herself think when she left, before she stepped out the door thanking herself for putting a silencing charm on the house when she moved in, so she could never hear the sound of the noisy rain against the windows when it was this heavy. She giggled when she thought about it and then she stepped outside the door.

That was probably the first time she'd actually smiled in that house, for a very long time, but she hoped to herself and prayed to Merlin, that it also wouldn't be the last time and soon enough, she hoped she'd be able to come back here, Happy.

With that Hermione left the house, not sure of what she was planning to gain from the long walk ahead of her, but she knew for sure she'd gain more from it than sitting in the house, sulking like she had been for the past month, would ever get her.


	2. Thirty Minuet Love Afair

The path in Diagon Alley was slippery and wet. Hermione had got her feet under control by now and were walking fine, but every so often when somebody walked past her, you could see people trying to stand straight while walking, fighting against falling over. It was rather funny seeing people struggling honestly and she couldn't help but giggle when she saw one rather drunk lady plunging to the floor, followed by a bag and a wand. She didn't stop to help and even though she did feel guilty for not helping, she had bigger things on her mind.

The alley was lit up by the different shops that were open during the night. A few pubs were open due to it being Friday night. That's why everything was so loud. Everybody were drunk and shouting at each other down the different pubs, asking for different drinks and where each other were going. She recognized a few people out, but said nothing to anybody. She wasn't in the mood to have a conversation with anybody, besides, even if she did try to talk to anybody, the fact that the rain was hitting down so hard and the volume of all the witches and wizards on the stone floor clobbering out and about to the next pub, would mean all conversation would be rushed and without meaning, not to mention most of the conversation would be asking each other to repeat what the last thing said was.

By now it had been about 20 minutes since she'd left the house. Hermione's hair was still up in the leather strap unknowingly provided by Bill. Bits had fallen down onto her face, so she was constantly moving her hair to one side. She was grateful she'd put it up, because if she hadn't she knew her messy untamed hair would be all over the place and frizzier than usual. The clothes she was wearing were soaked through now. The jacket she was wearing wasn't doing the job it was bought for. Next time she goes to by one she won't be opting for the muggle kind and will be going straight for the keep dry wizarding jackets sold in this part of London, the magic part.

As she continued to walk down the alley, there were still people walking around less drunk. She'd past all the pubs by now, but she'd gotten onto the shops. Most were open at midnight on a Friday and she went to the one place she knew for sure would still be open.

Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.

"The shop is closed until further notice, for reasons that can only be explained if you look through this hole."

Next to the large note that was pasted plainly on the front door of the one shop she was sure would be open at this time of night, there was a little hole, the kind that are on muggle apartment doors, so you could see who was outside your door. Hermione hadn't seen one of these in a long time used in

the wizarding world and Hermione Granger isn't one to not get curious, so she moved her head and looked in through the hole.

The next thing that happened was that Hermione smelt something awful, something she couldn't describe. She moved her head away from the hole and saw her reflection. If she wasn't mad enough already, she was now. The words "Keep your nose out you nosey bugger" had been plastered all over her face, but the smell still couldn't be accounted for and she wasn't planning on finding out what it was. She moved away from the door and looked through one of the blacked out windows, into the shop and took off her coat. It was already soaked due to the rain.

"Twins? Bloody pair of gits."

Hermione mumbled things to herself as she used her jacked as a towel wiping her face, trying to rid the words. She thought back to when she had charmed the signup sheet for Dumbledore's army and how the words "Sneak" appeared on the face of Marietta.

"Yeah well she deserved it, what did I do to deserve this?"

She asked this question out loud, something she truly regretted. The words that where printed onto her face vanished and were replaced by the words "You were a nosey girl Granger"

She rolled her eyes and rubbed it off. It took her a good 5 minutes to remove, but it came off in the end.

She was stood looking at her reflection thinking to herself.

"If the Twins put their mind to it, rather than just making stupid pranks to catch people out, they could really go somewhere and do something with their lives like Bill has."

That was it. The thought of Bill reminded her why she was out here. Why she was all alone in the alley. So she walked on, continuing to think about the letter she left him.

"I shouldn't have left it, should I?"

"Did I really mean what I said?"

"Well of course I meant it, or I wouldn't have put it. I'm Hermione Granger for Merlin's sake. I don't say something unless I truly mean it."

"Or do I?"

Hermione seemed to forget all about how to walk at this point and she suddenly slipped on the stone floor. She stayed down for a good few seconds with her eyes closed, hoping that nobody had seen her fall, but above her as she opened her eyes was a rather good looking man who were looking down at her. All hope of her trip being unseen was lost and she just looked up at him for a moment and closed her eyes again.

He laughed, and pulled her up.

"Having problems staying on your feet Hermione?"

That voice. She knew she recognized it, but where? How did he know her name? Now, not only had somebody seen her fall and not only does she have to live with the knowledge that somebody will remember this, due to knowing who she is, but she also has to look him in the eyes after her embarrassing tumble.

"Seamus?"

Hermione looked at him in pure shock. She hadn't seen Seamus since the war had ended, not once. She hadn't even heard about him. She didn't know he was still here in London. She thought he had moved back to Ireland maybe and that could be why she hadn't heard anything of him, but obviously not. He was here, looking at her dead in the eye, slightly laughing at the fact that she had just fallen over in front of him.

"Yeah, that's me."

He smiled at her and laughed. He could tell that she was surprised to see him but, he was also pretty shocked to find her walking the streets of Diagon Alley at now one in the morning with the rain crashing down.

"What are you doing out here on your own?" He asked her after she hadn't replied to his last comment.

Hermione wasn't sure of what to tell him. She hadn't seen him in at least 4 years and probably shouldn't start their first conversation with;

"I'm being completely mental and over emotional about my relationship with Bill Weasley, you know, Ron Weasley's, the boy that used to have a massive crush on me at Hogwarts, extremely older brother and I've decided to roam the streets feeling sorry for myself."

She just didn't think that it was a great opening line, so she opted for the less "crazy girl" excuse.

"I was just out looking for the new book I wanted, Midnight release."

"You came out here in the pouring rain, with an extremely flimsy coat on, at one in the morning to buy a book?"

Seamus made it seem a little more insane that she had hoped, but luckily she had the fact that she was indeed Hermione and it all sounded a little less, well, silly.

"That's the Hermione I know and remember. Looks like you haven't changed a bit eh?"

He just smiled at her, something Hermione missed looking at. Not necessarily Seamus' smile, just any smile. She missed the fact that she could make somebody happy.

"I guess I haven't. Other than I'm out of school and actually have a job now."

She continued his conversation.

"How's about we go inside? The rain is getting pretty bad."

Seamus pointed to the pub that he had just walked out of.

He was right, the rain was getting worse. It was getting painful on her head and shoulders and she thought that maybe going inside and getting warmer wasn't the worst idea in the world.

She followed Seamus into the pub and to one of the tables at the far side. It wasn't the classiest of places, but what was she really expecting from a pub anyways? It was all pretty basic. Wooden floors, wooden tables, wooden chairs, in-fact, there seemed to be a theme going on.

"Nice place."

Even though there was a wooden theme and nothing fancy in the place at all, she was being genuine when she made the compliment to her surroundings. It was a nice little place and she couldn't believe she'd never actually been there before.

"Thanks. I changed it up when I bought it."

Hermione looked at Seamus.

"You own this place?"

Seamus laughed at her question. He knew she was always one to question things and make sure she knew every little detail.

"Yeah, I bought it last year while I was looking for a new pub to run. The others I own are all up in muggle London. I thought I'd come back from to my magic roots after me mum died. Makes me feel closer to her yano?"

Hermione's eyes flew open. She had no idea about Seamus's mother passing away and she felt truly awful for him.

"Oh Seamus I'm sorry, I had no idea."

Seamus stopped her with a smile.

"No worries Hermione. It was hard, but I'm fine now. I promise."

His smile proved that he was telling the truth.

"So you've been out of the wizarding world for a while then? Is that why I haven't heard anything from you as of late?"

She tried to change the subject. Not for him, but for her, so she could rid herself of the awkward feeling.

"Yeah. After the war my dad thought it was best that I came into his muggle life for a bit.

The two sat and talked for a while about things that had gone on in their lives. About the different places that Seamus had owned out in the muggle world and what he was hoping to do with the different places that he had now bought in the wizarding world as well. Hermione let him know all about her job in the Ministry and how she was finally making a difference in the world. She was the first muggle born witch to make it as far as she had and every chance she got to talk about it, she would.

The conversation fell, as they made it onto relationships. Hermione's heart sank immediately when she realized that she may have to explain all about her relationship with Bill, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized that it wasn't the only reason she wasn't saying anything. She realized she didn't want Seamus to stop talking to her the way he was. I mean, in no way did she fancy him, or think of him in that way, in any manor, but she liked that she was being a little flirty every now and then. She liked how he would grab her hand and call her cute every so often, so she said nothing.

Thirty minutes had past and again, Seamus touched her hand and called her cute as he had done it all night. Hermione looked down at her hands and when she looked up she jumped a little. She couldn't see Seamus' face. All she could see was Bill. She could feel the guilt crawling up inside her. She felt wrong. She moved her hands away from Seamus and instantly apologized for walking out on him and that's exactly what she did a moment later. She left the pub and walked back onto the raining street.

Everything was much darker now. All the pubs must have been closed down for the night and she continued to walk back down the alley, not really sure of where she was headed now. She felt guilty and strange. Why didn't she tell Seamus about Bill?

She thought back to what she was actually thinking when they were having the conversation. Seamus talked about his work in the pubs and how he had become successful and all she could think was how Bill had made it up the ranks at Gringotts.

When he talked about his ex-girlfriend and the way she treated him, he mentioned that she always seemed to make him out to be a bad guy and how she'd always accuse him for things that he hadn't actually done. The conversation was actually rather lengthy about them both exchanging harsh words against the girl, but then Hermione came to realization.

Seamus was describing her.

Maybe he wasn't actually describing her, but everything he had said seemed to fit in perfectly with what she was doing to Bill. Blaming him for things had hadn't done, like being in love with Fleur, making her feel un-loved, never showing her that he loved her the way he loved his Ex-Wife.

She was faced with the Twins' shop again, looking in the same window she used to wash the words off her face. Her hair was destroyed now, there was no need to keep it up, so she pulled out the strap that was keeping it all at bay and her hair fell to her shoulders. It was messy and frizzy. She couldn't even be bothered trying to straighten it out, knowing it would be no use. She looked at the strap of Bill's that was in her hand and she tied it around her wrist. It seemed to put up a good battle with her though. It really didn't seem to want to be around her wrist, but she managed in the end and tied it in a nice bow.

When Hermione looked back up to her reflection, she wasn't alone. Bill was standing behind her, his arms around her waist, holding her as she guiltily remembered that he always did. This man always showed her love, he showed her love like nobody ever had done before. The two were so similar, both smart, both Gryffindors and both were outsiders to their families.

Bill was of course close to his family. You couldn't be a member of the Weasley family without being close to them. Hell, Percy couldn't even manage to stay away and he seemed damn determined at one point. Bill was always away from them when it came to his work. He didn't get to see them as much as everybody else did and this always made Bill feel a little bit like an outsider to the family. Hermione had no family, not anymore. They didn't have a clue who she were. She remembered when she told Bill about what she did for the first time.

She had been with him for about a month and he had mentioned when he was going to meet her side of the family. The conversation pained her, it was never an easy topic to talk about. She could never know if they were safe, if they were happy, if they would ever remember who she was, but Bill was so caring, he made sure that she was comforted after she had told him. Three days later she was requested to go to his office where he worked and when she got there Bill was nowhere to be seen, but on his desk was a folder labelled;

"Granger Family Update.

Status of family.

Family tree.

Family health."

Bill could never bring Hermione's family to remember who she was, but he could do the next best thing. He had organized it, so that everything about the family would be written, documented and delivered to his office every month, so that she would know her family were safe and if they weren't she would at least be warned about it.

William Weasley was an amazing man. A smart and caring man.

Hermione's face had drifted back to the floor as she was pulled back into the memory of her boyfriend. When she came back to reality she looked back up to the reflection expecting to see Bill there, but of course he wasn't. It was just her imagination playing tricks on her and she knew what she had to do. She had to get back home before the night ended, rid the ridiculous letter that she had left to the side and show Bill that she loved him just as much as she realized that he had shown her.

Hermione felt a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. She was sure of how she felt and all it seemed to take was a night in a pub, with a boy she knew in high school.

She felt slightly guilty about not telling Seamus that she had somebody else. She knew exactly what Ginny would have said if she was there.

"If you're not willing to tell the person that you're in a relationship, you're damned well cheating."

Hermione laughed as she envisioned her best friend shouting at her while saying these words.

"I guess I'll just have to refrain from telling Ginny about my thirty minute love affair with Seamus Finnigan then eh?"

Again she laughed at herself while saying this. The idea of actually having an affair with Seamus was so much to keep a straight face at.

The rain falling harder than it had done all night woke her up from her little stream of thoughts and reminded her that she needed to get home soon and before she knew it, she was at her door. She couldn't help but smile, knowing she was home again.

She opened the door and her smile evaporated fast.

Bill was stood at the desk, his back to her, letter in one hand and wand in the other.

Will you guys please give me some reviews? I'd love to know what you all think.


	3. Black and Blue

"Bill."

Hermione's voice was quiet. She couldn't believe that he was awake at this time of night and he had read the letter. How would she explain this? Her heart had sunk back down to the feeling she had about two hours ago. She felt empty, but this time for different reasons, this time it was caused by her own recklessness of leaving out that pathetic letter.

She walked in the door and closed it behind her. Nothing had changed, the lights were still off, the fire was still raging on in the middle of the room and the rain was still crashing against the window, which was directly in front of her across the long room, yet it all felt different. When she was in the room before, it had at least felt peaceful. Now it just felt tense and awkward. Bill was said nothing and she were left to try and explain things herself.

"Bill, I didn't act."

Bill turned around when she started talking. She could see his face, see the hurt in his eyes, but when she stopped looking directly into them, she could see his face wasn't telling the same story, he was angry and he was angry at her. He stayed perfectly still. His hair wasn't messy, but it wasn't neat either. It looked, as if he had been lying down for an hour and just woken up, something she remembered that he actually had done. He had no shirt on, just some jogging bottoms that he would usually wear when he went to sleep. She could tell she was only about ten minutes late. If she had gone home ten minutes later, then he probably wouldn't be awake and he wouldn't have read the letter that she knew was about to get her into some serious trouble.

"You're just picking up the pieces of my broken heart?"

Hermione could tell by his choice of words that he had thoroughly read the letter she had left behind. She knew he'd done what he always did, analysed the text and tried to find meaning in every word. How could she be so foolish? To leave such an emotional piece of writing out for a man like Bill to find, someone who reads into everything, so clever and so very stubborn.

Did she think that she wouldn't have to explain herself? That she'd just be able to come home and expect him to just greet her, hoping she'd made her mind up? How could she be so stupid? When it came to finding answers, he was just as thorough as she was. He wouldn't rest until everything was explained.

"Bill I was sad. I didn't mean an-.."

Bill once again cut off what she was trying to say. He didn't seem interested in her explanation. She'd said enough in her letter, now it was his turn to explain himself to her.

"You act off with me for a month, a month Hermione, because of this. Are you fucking serious?"

The words he used were enough to show her that he was more than serious at that moment. She knew when he used her name in an argument, it was to make it personal and when he swore, she knew it was something he needed to express. She knew he couldn't find the right words to explain himself and for a man with such a wide vocabulary, not being able to find the words he needed wasn't regularity.

"You have the right, to blame me for not loving you when you will hardly talk to me for a month. You feel you have the right to say to me that I don't love you and that I don't show it, when you don't even come to bed with me at night. You have the audacity to tell me that I still love my ex-wife, when it was you."

He paused to gain composure of himself. The more he spoke, the louder he got and the angrier his words became.

"When it was you who pushed us into the relationship, I told you we should leave it. I knew you still thought I loved her, even when I didn't. I said to you that we shouldn't get together until you knew for certain, that I wouldn't be thinking of Fleur and you agreed."

Hermione just went pale. It's so easy when you're caught up in a moment, to think of all the bad things, but as she realized while looking into the window of the Twins' shop, when you truly look at the bigger picture, you can see the happiness. But this is something she realized way too late. She should have thought about this before she even wrote that damn letter.

"Bill, I was frustrated, I needed to get it out, but I never acted."

"You needed to get it out, so you do this do you? I've been asking you for weeks what's been wrong and the most you've given me is 'Nothing for you to worry about'. I'm sorry Hermione, but this is something I should be worrying about, because my girlfriend has gone insane."

Bill's words annoyed Hermione. Sure she'd been way out of line and shouldn't have done what she did, but for him to call her insane was just unnecessary.

"Insane?"

Hermione decided that she would get nowhere in this conversation if she stayed timid, so she decided to argue his way, loud, and stubbornly.

"Is it really insane for me to think, that you could still be in love with the woman you spend every night with after work, the woman you were married to for 3 years and the woman who is insanely beautiful and kind? Really, that's insane of me is it William?"

The use of the name William proved this was a fight. Hermione never called him William, unless times were hard, or she truly needed his attention.

Bill seemed to have had enough of Hermione's talking. He moved and started walking around the room annoyed.

"No you stupid girl. What's insane is the fact that you can't see, that the one I love is YOU! The fact that … How can you not see the things I have done for you? I gave up travelling in my job for you; I didn't even do that for my family Hermione. I went through all that trouble that nearly got me fired to get the records of your family. I stopped seeing my sister, who needs me now more than ever because I actually thought something was wrong with you. I stayed up every night trying to talk to you, trying to find out what was wrong with you and this is it, something as pathetic as this?"

Hermione had no retort. He really did make her sound pathetic and it was. She could have easily turned around and questioned him for calling her such a word, but for the first time ever, she knew that if she did, her argument would have been invalid. She saw a floor in every comeback that she could think of, but then his words sunk in; Ginny? What was wrong with Ginny? They had been best friends for years now and she saw her on an everyday basis and still, she didn't know there was anything wrong with her.

"Ginny?"

That was the only thing Hermione could bring herself to say.

"And you think you have it so bad eh? My sister can't go a day without drinking. Have you talked to her about it? 'Cause hell, when I go there to talk to her about what's wrong with her, all she can do is turn around and ask what's been wrong with you and you haven't even noticed that something's wrong with her?"

Hermione couldn't believe it. Had she been so caught up in herself that she couldn't see her best friend was in need of help?

"And what about Charlie? Did you even notice he was home? Did you notice that he was without a job? Can you even begin to imagine what it must be like to be at the top of your job, the very top and then get fired for something that you didn't do? No, because nothing like that has ever happened to you. You've been in your job for a little over two years and you've climbed the ranks higher than most people do within 9."

Hermione continued to listen to Bill talk. She was being given too much information to take. Bill seemed to know everything about everybody.

"When's the last time you talked to Tonks after Lupin died? Have you ever sat down with her and had her cry on your shoulder, talking about how it's been for her to bring up Teddy? No you haven't."

He seemed to know every bad thing that was going on in the world.

"What about Neville? I can't remember the last time he was at home during the night. He spends most of his nights walking the streets. Do you have any idea what that boy would give to have somebody loving him the way that you have somebody loving you?"

Then something dawned on her.

"Draco. I may hate the slimy little shit for what he did to my brother, but did you know he can't have children? His wife's been talking about leaving him for quite some time if he doesn't do something about it."

"No Bill. I don't know how it feels. I also don't know how it feels to carry around everybody's problems on my shoulders. I'm sorry."

Hermione's words sounded sympathetic. Hermione knew he would ignore it. Bill wasn't the type to accept other people's sympathy. He was too hard face and Hermione was right, Bill continued his rant, without taking in what she had said.

"Did you know that my mother thinks the absolute world of you? Did you know she's the reason you were able to go back and finish your final years at Hogwarts after the war? She's the one who got you in you know? Well you would know, if you'd just listen to something she'd said over the past week."

Hermione couldn't take it. Bill was trying to make a point, she knew that and it wasn't him who was making her feel awful, it was the realization that she hadn't paid attention to any of her friends lately. She'd been so busy focusing on herself that she didn't do one thing other than being clever, which was what she was known for. She didn't help her friends when they needed her most. Hermione always looked after everybody and she loved doing so, but she didn't even know that people needed her help. She looked to the floor and started to cry for the 100th time that night.

She wasn't sure when it had happened, but Bill was standing in front of her. He moved one hand under her chin and pulled her face up to look at him.

"Look Hermione. You need to understand that I'm not saying this to hurt you. I would never hurt you on purpose."

He moved his other hand and placed it on her cheek and used his thumb to rid the tears that were on that side of her face.

"But we're all the same. We all get desperate sometimes. The world isn't black and white, happy people and sad people, there's colour in there. There are purples and pinks and reds and blues and I know that when you're hurting it's hard to accept sometimes, but we feel black and we feel blue sometimes as well, not just you."

Hermione moved her hand up to meet the hand that was caressing her cheek and looked Bill in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, I didn't."

"Shh."

Bill stopped her, not wanting her apologize.

"I understand, but I still want to talk about it okay?"

Bill held Hermione in his arms, for the first time in what felt like a lifetime and even though he knew he didn't want to mess this moment up, he knew they needed to talk about it. Not for the sake of saving himself, but he needed to put Hermione's fears and doubts to rest. He walked her over to the sofa, handed her the letter and said.

"Explain."

Hermione wasn't sure of what she was meant to do at this point. She didn't want to explain the letter because she knew she didn't mean any of it and she was sure Bill knew she didn't mean it. What did he want her to explain?

"Hermione Granger. Never have I known you to turn down a good explanation."

He laughed, seeming to try and make the conversation a lot less tense and a bit more light-hearted, but still said it as if he wanted her to tell him what she was thinking when she wrote the letter.

"I know you didn't mean the things you said in this letter. I know that you know I love you, but these words were true when you had written them and of course I don't want you to sit there and point out everything I'm awful at, even though there isn't much of a list for that."

Bill winked and smirked at her when he said this laughing. At this point Hermione knew things were coming back to normal. Bill was being his cheeky self again and if keeping things this way meant that she had to go through every part of her letter and tell him what her mental idea was for writing it was, then she would.

"But I want you to tell me why you felt like this at the time and try not to break my heart, yes beautiful?"

He smiled at her and left her to tell him the rest.

Hermione looked down to the letter; she couldn't actually remember what she had written.

Do you wish I was a bit more like her?

"Bill, Fleur is an amazingly beautiful woman. She's kind, funny and nice."

"But that's nothing compared to you."

Bill interrupted.

Bill, I hope you don't see me as the girl who will sort out all your problems. I can't do it.

"I didn't want to be the girl who you thought was going to fix everything in your life. I can't do that. I wish I could, but I can't."

"But you already have Hermione."

Bill seemed to have an answer for everything.

"Bill, you know. If you're just going to do that every time I say something, then there's going to be a very long night's worth of explaining to do."

She laughed as she was saying this.

She laughed.

It had been a long time since she'd laughed with him and it felt good. It felt right again, as if this was meant to be. For the first time in a month she understood where she belonged.

"I'm sorry Hermione. My point is that everything you think is just that. It's what you think, nothing you have written there is actual fact and it's just the over- working brain cells in your head. Yes Fleur was a beautiful kind woman."

Hermione frowned at him as he said this.

"But that's nothing compared to what you are Hermione and I wish you would just understand that."

Hermione simply smiled. She had no reply and she didn't want to reply.

"I love you Hermione."

"I love you too Bill. Can I ask you a question?"

Bill looked at her. She thought she could see worry in his eyes, so she simply moved her hands and held his in front of her, shaking her head.

"No nothing. I just wondered. How do you know so much about everybody?"

Bill smiled. She didn't know if it was from relief that they were off the topic, or if something she had said had amused him.

"Hermione I work day in and day out, looking after vaults that people keep their secrets in. You'll be amazed what people leave behind or talk about when they think everything's safe."

"So you go through people's stuff and listen into their conversations?"

For the first time that night, Hermione had regained her usual tone of disagreement for what Bill had just said. Her brows seemed to burrow into her eyes and Bill could tell she was back. He gave her a little smirk before justifying himself.

"I prefer calling it being observational; you can't tell me you wouldn't do the same Miss Granger."

And there it was, that cunning, that charm and that brain she could have sworn should have earned him a place at the Slytherin table. It surely earned him a place in her heart. When they first met Hermione always found that conversations and debates with him were always a bit more of a challenge. He always had the brain-power to back up what he was saying and always had the cunning to come up with a very hard one to argue out of retort and Hermione could never pass up a challenge. This is what drew her to him. People would always question why she was with somebody of his age, or why she would date her ex-boyfriend's older brother. Her answer was always the same.

She loved the challenge.

"As a matter of fact, Mr Weasley." She made sure to state his name in a rather prudish kind of manner "I wouldn't."

He just smirked.

"But then you wouldn't know all the other wonderful things that I know. For example; Seamus Finnigan is back in our world."

Hermione was a bit stumped that he would bring up Seamus' name the same day she had seen him, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to use it to her advantage.

"You don't need to work with Goblins to figure that one out Bill."

He looked confused for a second, but it didn't last long. He never let it show that he had been outsmarted or put out by a statement.

"So you've been with Finnigan have you?"

Now it was Hermione's turn to look confused, but she never hid it when she was trying to figure something out. She never could when Bill was around, so she never tried. Before she could ask him how he knew he answered her.

"When I said his name, you looked to your right. You always do that when you're trying to recall a memory or thinking back."

"Bill Weasley you clever boy."

"Yeah. That and the fact that he told me he was going to be out at his new pub tonight. It's rather easy to put two and two together really."

"When I said clever I meant sneaky." She giggled at his admission "When did you talk to him?"

"About two days ago, when I was getting off work, he was just outside. He invited me out to a beer and everything, but then I told him I had to get home to you."

He knew that she was with Bill? Then why was he flirting with her all night? Hermione started to wonder, lost in her thoughts as she usually was.

"He was flirting with you?"

Hermione came back to the real world for long enough to realize what she was saying in her head, was also leaving her lips.

"Why wouldn't he know we were together? Miss Granger is there something you're not telling me?"

Bill said, surprisingly, with a smile on his face.

"Bill please don't hate me. I was feeling down and it was the first time I'd seen him in a while and I didn't think it was the best topic of conversation, besides, he was only calling me cute."

Bill cut her off there, with a kiss to the lips, the first kiss she'd had with him like this for a while. It was hot and fast and needy, but not for a second did she stop to think, she immediately returned the kiss.

Bill stopped it for a second.

"Anybody can call you cute Granger, as long as I'm the only one who can make you feel sexy."

He sat up and moved her off the sofa, kissing everywhere he could reach as he stayed in a sitting position and placed her so she was standing in front of him. She was still soaked from the rain which had made most of what she was wearing pretty flimsy.

He started to kiss her hip bones, moving across, kissing her lower belly while he did so.

"Missed this, didn't you baby?"

His eyes were looking up at her as he started to kiss upwards towards her chest.

"Missed this nearly as much as I did, well if you hadn't been so stubborn, then you could have had this every night."

As he moved up, he grazed her nipples with his teeth through her shirt and she let out a soft moan. He moved higher and higher until he was kissing her neck and he was standing at in his full height.

He stopped kissing her and looked into her eyes, almost as if he was studying her, saying nothing, the room completely silent. The sound of the fire and Hermione's rather loud breathing was all that could be heard.

Bill moved his hands and started undoing the buttons on Hermione's jeans, ripping them open and then they heard the zipper opening and the sound of Hermione's breathing all of a sudden stopped and he smirked, moving his face a little bit closer to hers, reaching her ear.

"Why did you stop coming to bed with me?"

His hands started to move inside her jeans and rubbed on the front of her knickers. Hermione just bit her bottom lip trying not to let out a sound.

"Why wasn't I allowed to do this for so long?"

Bill's voice had become husky, almost predator like. As he was talking he moved his hands into her nickers and he softly and slowly started to rub her clit.

"I know it isn't because you don't love it."

He started to move his hand a little faster, rubbing his fingers all over her, teasing her entrance and then back to her clit. Hermione was doing all she could to stay silent.

"'Cause if you didn't love it, then I couldn't make you do this."

Bill plunged his finger into her and she couldn't keep quiet. She let go of her lip and moaned nice and loud, just like Bill knew she would. He started pumping his fingers into her harder and faster, just looking into her eyes, but she couldn't stare back any longer, she'd thrown her head back, eyes closed, mouth open. Bill used his other hand and pulled her head back to his so their foreheads were together.

"Do you want more Hermione?"

She couldn't say anything. It had been little over a month since she'd last been touched like this and she missed the feeling. She just moaned and Bill knew she was lost for words. He knew exactly how she was feeling and he used this to his advantage.

"Do you Hermione? All you have to do is ask."

He smirked at her while he was watching her trying to get her words out.

"Bi..Mor.. More, Bill please."

She panted but managed to ask.

Bill plunged his finger into her one last time and kissed her hard, with more passion than the last. He was stroking her walls as he was kissing her and she could hardly keep herself together. She was wobbling at the knees.

"As you wish beautiful."

He stopped everything, pulled his hand from her jeans, moved his head away from hers and took her by the waste. He turned her around and threw her onto the sofa. He leaned in and started to kiss down her body again, this time pulling her top over her head and unclasping her bra while he was there and he took her nipple into his mouth. He circled it around his tongue and bit it ever so gently and then gave her other nipple the same treatment.

He moved down her body and pulled her jeans down her legs, throwing them to one side. He kissed up the inside of her legs, paying attention to everything. As he reached her core he looked up at her.

"I miss your taste Hermione."

He immediately pulled her knickers to one side and got to work. He worked her core like nobody, he always used to and she missed it. She needed it so badly. One of her hands travelled down to his hair and she grabbed it pushing his face into her. He made a moaning sound that vibrated her and made her yelp cutely.

She was biting her lip, just watching his head between her legs. He wasn't licking her pussy, he was eating it. He was making sure that everything was touched and played with. He circled her clit with his tongue, flicking it every now and then and just before anything could happen, he'd move his tongue and feast inside her, trying to get his tongue in her as much as possible.

He wanted to her cum. He replaced his tongue with his fingers and slowly started to pump in and out of her and he started to play with her clit once more. She'd lost all control, she couldn't take anymore.

"Come on Granger, cum for me."

And she did, with that she came undone. She couldn't help it; she arched her back and pushed Bill's face in further as he continued to eat her while she came, his fingers still pushing in and out of her.

"Bill, Oh.. Oh… fuucckkk, Biiillllll!"

Bill stopped playing with her and moved to sit next to her. She cuddled up next to him and wrapped her body around him so they were closer than they had been in so long. She missed this.

He wrapped her up in the blanked that was on the back of the sofa still and made sure she was warm.

"We can get rid of this stupid blanket now then can't we?"

Hermione just looked at him and giggled. She was home and where she belonged, but what would tomorrow bring? Was the letter out of Bills head, or were he just putting on another brave face?


	4. Back To Normality

Hermione woke up on the sofa alone. She was wrapped up warmly in her usual blanket, she sat up and looked around for any sign of Bill in the room, but he was nowhere to be seen. Her heart started to race, she couldn t believe it. He d gone? After what had happened she thought that he d at least stick around for morning before bolting off somewhere else. At least tell her that he didn t want to see her again, but then she saw it and her heart slowly calmed down.  
Just gone to work beautiful, didn t want to wake you, should be back in time for the meal.  
-Bill. Hermione couldn t think. Meal? What meal was she supposed to be getting ready for? She sat there for a good ten minutes trying to think, but she couldn t. Nothing seemed to come to mind. She felt slightly guilty for not remembering, but under the circumstances she gave herself a little bit of leeway and couldn t really blame herself, I mean after everything she had gone through she s bound to forget little things like a meal, but still, she knew that she would have to get dressed up and ready and pretend she knew what was going on.  
She moved up from the sofa with a smile on her face. She was overjoyed about last night, not just because of what they did but because she finally felt the closure with Bill that she needed. She saw the love in his eyes that she really longed for.  
She went into the bathroom and got in the shower. She used her new coconut shampoo that she had bought just a few days ago but not had the chance to use, but she could see that it had already been opened. Giggling to herself she realized that Bill had obviously decided that they would be sharing it. She cleaned herself up and got out of the shower and looked into the mirror.  
She gave herself a satisfied look, wrapped herself up in a towel and left for her bedroom.  
Well I didn t expect to be seeing you like this Hermione. The girl giggled as Hermione entered the room. Hermione was startled at first and jumped a little bit when she heard the girl s voice, but was instantly relieved to find that it was Ginny.  
Ginny. What are you doing here? You scared me. The ginger girl laughed and looked at Hermione in a rather patronizing way.  
You told me to come so we could get ready together remember? Hermione tried to think back at this conversation but again, she just couldn t remember. It seemed she d done so much planning as she usually did, but couldn t for the life of her remember what all the planning was for.  
I thought you d at least be dressed by now though. The meal being only an hour away and everybody s going to be there for Charlie s announcement. So that s what it is. Ginny looked at Hermione and realized she had completely forgotten the plans for the day.  
You have completely forgotten haven t you Hermione? Hermione blushed; she got that guilty feeling again.  
Sorry Ginny, I ve had a lot going on with your brother and all and things have just been well.. Say no more. Ginny smiled at her I know how you feel; I ve been a bit stressed out too lately. I ll fill you in as we get you ready. Ginny smiled and proceeded to inform Hermione of what was going on for the day.  
Basically Charlie invited us all around to the Burrow for his Special announcement that we both know is that he s going to propose to Hope, because remember, we found that ring in his room when we were looking for his book? Ginny continued on and then Hermione remembered.  
My sister can t go a day without drinking. Bill s words flooded her mind. Bill had told her the night before that Ginny was going through a really hard time, but by the looks of the girl in front of her at the moment she was completely fine.  
Hermione knew that she would have to look out for Ginny for the rest of the night. She knew she was the kind of girl who wouldn t show her emotions easily, she never had been. Hermione just sat back, she was annoyed with herself for not realizing the pain that her best friend, through so many years was in and the fact that she didn t know what was wrong with her was even harder. She didn t know if she should ask, she didn t even know if she should know, but of course she did and even if Bill didn t tell her anything, she would have figured it out anyways; she probably would have noticed it already if it wasn t for all the selfish moping around that she had been doing.  
And you know Charlie. Things always have to be formal, dress-up and all. Ginny. Hermione stopped Ginny from talking.  
She was currently stood behind Hermione doing her hair. They were communicating via the mirror in front of them to see each other.  
Ginny are you okay? Hermione asked, her tone had turned from light hearted girly chat to a little bit more serious.  
Ginny just smiled at her best friend.  
Yeah of course I m fine, why? No Ginny, are you okay? Ginny moved her hands from playing with Hermione s hair and rested them on her shoulder, looking into Hermione s eyes using the mirror.  
I m getting by. Hermione raised her hand that was before on her lap and held one of Ginny s, not moving her eyes from hers and squeezed and simply said Good and smiled.  
Hermione knew that trying to have a full blown conversation about it would get her nowhere, but she knew that she had to make it known that she was there for her, even if she didn t know what she was there for her for.  
Ginny smiled at Hermione and reverted back to the girl talk after two seconds of intense staring in the mirror.  
So now your hair s done, what are you planning on wearing? Hermione looked into the mirror, she hadn t even realized that her hair had been finished, it was immaculate, she was so used to her hair being untamed that this look completely floored her.  
It was pinned up in a bun and had blue gems all circled around it with lose curls framing her face. She felt beautiful.  
Ginny, it looks fantastic, I- Enough about the hair, dress now! Ginny demanded Hermione and pointed to her wardrobe.  
I think it s obvious that you re going to be wearing a blue dress to complement the gems in your hair, but which one? Oh look at you miss fashion. I happen to know rather well which dress I shall be wearing. Hermione left the wardrobe with a dress in her hand and showed it to Ginny.  
Really? Ginny was looking less than impressed with Hermione s decision.  
It looks better on I promise. Hermione twirled around three times and the dress appeared on her. She had learnt all kind of different spells while she had been with Bill. His knowledge was endless when it came to handy little tricks like this.  
Impressive. Ginny looked at Hermione and nodded at her.  
I told you it looked better on. Ginny looked at the dress. It was a deep midnight blue with simple straps, it was body hugging so it showed off her curves rather well, but not too much, so that it looked like she was going out on a date. It was knee length and rather beautiful. She kept it formal as she realized that she would be with the Weasley family and everybody else that had been invited.  
Looks like we just wait until it starts then? Just as they were talking an owl came crashing through the window at a menacing speed.  
Errol you stupid bird. Ginny took a rather mad tone of voice at the owl who was now hopping around on the floor, completely oblivious to loud notice it had just made.  
Calm down Ginny, no harm done. Ginny caught the owl and took the bit of parchment that was on its leg.  
Sis, go get Hermione and bring her to the meal, everybody s here waiting for you slow-pokes and tell Hermione that Bill said he d be meeting her here. He s got to stay back at work for a bit to help a newbie with some namby pamby Oh I m a big bad curse breaker so I m going to be late for my brothers big meal crap -Charlie. Ginny just looked at Hermione who had also read the letter and couldn t help but smirk. She tried to stop herself from giggling and would have succeeded as well if it wasn t for Hermione s mutter of Cheeky little shit under her breath.  
Calm down Hermione, no harm done. Ginny just winked at Hermione and giggled.  
Shall we go? We shall. The girls both grabbed each other s hands and apparated to the burrow where the meal was being held. The both of them were stood outside, the sun was shining. It was just about 4 O clock and by the sound emitting from inside the Burrow there were lots of people around and everybody was having a rather present sound.  
Ginny walked on forward and entered the burrow, but Hermione stayed back for a few seconds and took in the scene. She could see everybody through the shabby wooden windows talking to each other, sharing their firewalker and having rather loud conversation. She walked up to the door unknowingly and smiling.  
Home. She whispered before opening the door to the Burrow.  
She walked in and the first thing she noticed was the amount of people that had come to gather. It was more like a reunion from Hogwarts than a Weasley meal. Just from the first glance she had noticed Neville, Luna, Dean, Lee Jordan and Justin all in one conversation.  
The house looked as immaculate as you can get a wooden Burrow to look without ripping it down and starting it all again. Hermione continued to look around for people that she recognized and found herself in the kitchen.  
So what were you doing walking around the streets at night in the rain then Granger? There was a loud pop behind Hermione that made her jump out of her skin.  
Do you Weasleys pride yourself on scaring people? Hermione addressed to the younger Weasley Twin who had placed himself so that he was sat on the table behind her.  
Not as much as you pride yourself on your intellect, but we are rather talented at it. Said George who then took a seat next to his brother.  
But you didn t answer his question. What were you doing walking around in the rain at night? Hermione looked around. There was nobody in the kitchen at this point, something she was grateful for. She didn t really want people to know that she had been doing anything slightly out of the ordinary, she always prided herself on her stable lifestyle and walking around at night isn t exactly a way to keep that image.  
What s it got to do with you? Well if I remember correctly Miss Nosey. You were going to come by the shop and see us anyway. So you might as well tell us now. Hermione was always close to the twins, though she was closer with George, because they had a past, one that nobody knew about other than Fred and something the three of them promised they would all keep to themselves, so Hermione would always be able to go to the both of them with her problems, but she didn t really feel like sharing something that didn t really matter anymore.  
Come on Hermione, you were there for me. George said with a smile We just want to return the favor. Fred added as his smile matched his brother s.  
You know if you two weren t so cheeky and annoying, you d actually be good people. Hermione added smirking at them both.  
Boys the announcement, we need you in the other room now. Hope had entered the kitchen; she was a tall girl and around the same age as Hermione. She had short black hair that stopped at her shoulders with a full fringe; she hardly ever wore any make-up so her green eyes always shone a mile.  
Her good looks and beauty over-looked in Hermione s opinion, the two had never really spoken before. Hope was in the same year as Hermione in school but she was a Hufflepuff and considering everything that went on in there at the time, making friends wasn t a very big pass time.  
Hope looked at Hermione. She knew she was close to the twins it was no secret to the family and friends, but Hope always found the friendship odd. Hermione was always off with Fred or George or both.  
I guess you could pin it down to the fact that Hope was an old fashioned kind of girl; stay at home, clean up after her man and look after him at any cost. A trait that made it so Hermione and Hope didn t always see eye to eye.  
Oh Hermione, of course, I didn t realize you were here. All three of you will have to stop whatever you re doing, Charlie needs you in here. Hope gave Hermione a patronizing look. She always tried to keep her mouth shut, the both of them were rather good at biting their tongues when it came down to their disagreements, but they could always see that they were judging each other through the looks they gave.  
A big thank you to Jen for all the beta work she s done for all the chapters to far, wouldn t be here without you! 


	5. The Announcement

The three of them waited for Hope to leave the kitchen and carried on their conversation for a few minutes longer  
"Well find out what's going on soon enough Granger"  
"You know we will"  
Hermione just looked at the pair and laughed, she knew deep inside her own head just how cunning they are and she knew eventually, if they really wanted to they could get anything out of her, and they'd find out in the end, but for now she's put up a good fight and at least try to keep her business her own

"Shall we boys?"  
Hermione held out her hands for the boys and they both took one each and the three of them walked out of the kitchen into the front room  
Everybody was in place looking at Charlie who was mumbling on about his work with Dragons.  
"And we all know how dangerous my Job was, so the only good thing to take out of my dismissal was the fact that I could look for something safer and closer to home"  
Charlie looked at his parents who were sat to the side of him, Looking up proud at their second born son.  
"So rather than sit on my backside and moan about the loss, I got myself a new job, one that I could be happy about."

"I'll take it from here boys."  
Bill tapped his brothers on the shoulders and winked at them moving them away from Hermione, Bill had never had a problem with how close the group were, he found it to be rather a good thing, but Hermione always wondered how he would take it if he found out the truth of their past, not that it would make a difference in her eyes, in fact it's always something she's wanted to tell Bill, but George would never allow it. He thinks the family would look down on him, they've had the discussion of telling people before, and it's always ended in an argument. Hermione can't see the big deal about it, but George refuses to let it go.  
Bill took Hermione by the waist and pulled her into him and hugged her tight, something that told Hermione he was just as glad about the night before as she was, and they both continued to listen to his younger brother.  
"You're looking at the new Care of magical creature's professor at Hogwarts"  
Charlie had never looked so proud of himself.  
"Three cheers for professor Weasley"  
Shouted out Ginny from the back of the room where she was standing  
"Hip Hip"  
"Horrayyyyyyyyy"  
Everybody raised there glass while they cheered for him  
"Hip Hip"  
"Horrayyyyyyy"  
Hermione couldn't help but notice the proud look attached to Molly's face, like she'd gotten her long lost son back from somewhere awful.  
"Hip Hip"  
"Horrrraayyyy!"

"How's about a few fireworks then?"  
Arthur looked over towards the twins and for the first time, it wasn't due to them doing something stupid.  
"Wait"  
Charlie shouted out to the group of people who had started to discuss Charlie's announcement. Everybody turned and looked at him.  
"Do you really think I would have got everybody round here just for that measly bit of news?"  
Charlie winked and laughed.  
"You ready Neville?"  
The entire crowed looked towards Neville.  
He'd become a dashing and confident man over the year, a rather successful Professor at Hogwarts, but for the first time in years, the Neville from their third year seemed to rear his head, he looked shy, and nervous and didn't move from his spot in the front of the crowed.  
"Come on Nev, it's now or never"  
Charlie grabbed Neville by the arm and placed him next to him and whispered something in his ear all the group could see was Neville shaking his head trying to get out of whatever was happening.  
"Come on Neville what's going on?"  
Dean was trying to egg him on, everybody was just wondering and Bill looked at Hermione  
"Any idea?"  
Hermione looked back and him with a smile on her face saying no, but looked like she couldn't wait to find out.  
"Its good news I promise"  
Hermione looked confused, did Bill know what was going on, he seemed to know everything about everybody so why wouldn't he know this?  
She thought back to what he had said about Neville in their argument, that he was never home and had nobody to love, but was cut off by Charlie's words once again.  
"Okay guys, looks like I'm going to have to help the boy out"  
Charlie winked at a still feeble looking Neville.  
"Ladies and gentlemen, Neville is the boy who managed to get me this job within Hogwarts and while doing so I stumbled onto something that I knew he wanted to do, something that I thought due to past was a brilliant idea, so me and my brother William"  
Bill made a coughing noise from within the crowed.  
"I'm sorry, me and my brother Bill decided to put this party together, sort everything out, and make it happen; give Neville his chance to make ask something he's been longing to do since he was a small little pubescent teenager."  
Charlie looked out into the crowd of people  
"Where is she where is she he questioned while searching"  
Neville pointed into the crowed the girl in question.  
"Ah there we are, Luna Lovegood, would you please join us?"  
Charlie again whispered into Neville's ear and just before he left and joined next to Hermione he said  
"Now's your chance boy"  
and with that Neville was standing in front of everybody waiting for Luna to make it to the front.  
Luna hadn't changed at all since the end of Hogwarts, still the girl she always had been, she was wearing a long green wavy dress that dragged on the floor, and by god had she become even more beautiful, she had purple, red and blonde hair now though, Main colour blonde, purple underneath with fire red tips. It was something you had to get used to when you first saw it, but it didn't take long, anything seemed to suit the vacant eyed woman.  
Neville stood there a pasty mess; he had a black suite with a white shirt and a black tie, the classic well-dressed male.  
He looked at Luna who had now joined him at the front  
"Lu..Luna.. I.. I've been, I've been want"  
"Neville"  
Luna walked closer to Neville and took him by the hand and smiled as if nothing was going on.  
Neville's skin colour changed instantly, he'd become less white, he took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes.  
"Luna, I know things haven't gone well with us lately, and this last year without you, has been painful, we were strong together, we made each other work, perfect couple we may not be but something made is right, and I refuse to believe that you really wanted us to break after what happened, you were scared and upset and so was I, but I don't care, You left me for the wrong reasons and you wouldn't let me explain when you left, what happened hurt yes, of course it was hard for the both of us. But Luna I know we'll only get over it together, Luna Lovegood, I love you"

Neville slowly lowered to one knee and everybody in the audience cheered.  
"Luna, will you marry me? I need you."

Luna looked down to Neville just staring at him smiling.  
"Of course I will Neville"  
everybody screamed and cheered with each other the chant of  
"Neville Neville Neville" coming from the males and the girlish "Awwhhs" coming from the females.  
Neville just jumped up and looked at Charlie who gave him the ring he was holding and Neville placed it on Luna's finger, Luna's only reply being  
"It's a funny feeling this love thing isn't it"  
Neville just smiled and held her tight.

Hermione Looked at Bill and Bill knew exactly what she was thinking.  
"Go congratulate them"  
Hermione jumped up Kissed bill on the lips and ran to the front and tapped Luna on the shoulder smiling.  
as soon as Luna turned around Hermione grabbed her and hugged her and pulled her upstairs into Bills old bedroom in the burrow.  
"Luna, oh my god! Getting married, to Neville, Neville longbottom, Neville and Luna, Luna Longbottom! I'm so happy for you!"  
Luna just smiled at Hermione  
"I think I might just keep my last name Hermione"  
Hermione just smiled  
"Oh, erm, Luna Lovegood-Longbottom or Luna Longbottom-Lovegood?"  
Luna just laughed.  
"Longbottom-Lovegood sounds about right"  
"Wow, first of all of us to be married then"  
"I'll be honest I didn't see it coming, after what happened I didn't think we'd ever end up back together"  
Hermione couldn't keep her curious nose out, she knew it was best not to ask, but with it being talked about so much in Neville's speech, and being talked about now, it might be slightly rude if she didn't ask about it, like she wasn't interested, or at least that was the excuse she was going to stick to.  
"You don't mind me asking do you Luna?"  
Luna just looked at Hermione as if she knew the question was coming.  
"I had a still birth, It was rather traumatic"  
Hermione looked at Luna stunned  
"I didn't even know you were pregnant Luna"  
"Nobody did, we were away all during the pregnancy, France, It hit Neville pretty hard, Evan we were going to call him, a little boy, but when he was born, obviously he wasn't breathing and since then, me and Neville couldn't really talk about it, I never wanted to try again, I don't really like children, to many wrackspirts, confuses me a little, but Neville's always wanted them"  
Hermione stopped Luna's talking and just hugged her.  
"I'm sorry Luna"  
Luna just returned the hug and held Hermione.  
"I might try again for him, maybe we could have one, he's worth it"  
"I think maybe you should, You'd be a great mother Luna, besides, just thinking about one child being raised by Luna and Neville, that would be one certain head of House at Hogwarts"  
Luna and Hermione giggled a little longer and came downstairs and returned to everybody, a lot of people had gone and the burrow was much emptier than before, but there were still enough people to have some fun and good conversation.

Hermione walked straight up to Neville and hugged him  
"Congratulations, I'm so happy for you"  
Neville smiled at Hermione.  
"You to Hermione, I'm glad you and Bill are back on track"  
Neville looked over Hermione's shoulder to Bill who was standing behind her.  
"Thanks for all this Bill, without you and Charlie It'd never have happened."  
"You're welcome mate"


	6. Re-thinking your options

.The night carried on without a problem, everybody was so happy for the newly engaged couple, people where making toasts to them all night; Charlie was also getting heap loads of congratulations on his new spot as a professor at Hogwarts.  
Charlie was sat on the cabinet table by the side of the room just watching the crowed of people while they had their conversations. He was talking to his mother Molly, Hermione wasn't quite sure what the conversation was about but she could tell Molly was looking proud, the same proud look she was wearing when Charlie was giving his speech.  
Neville and Luna were snuggled up on the couch in front of the fire together; Hope was talking and bragging about her husband's new found position in Hogwarts to a few more of the guests that Hermione could only guess were a group of Hopes friends as they were giggling along to every un-funny thing that she was saying, She couldn't be sure of course, But Hermione didn't seem to think that Hope was as happy for Charlie as she was letting on.  
Hermione really couldn't understand why, but she always got a bad feeling about Hope. She'd never expressed her feelings towards her to anybody other than Fred and George, and that was only because she knew they felt the same way about her.  
When she started thinking about this, she realised that the twins where nowhere in sight, she decided that she'd go look for them, after all Bill had already left the party due to having some paper work to do at home, Bill was always so busy with work Hermione couldn't believe how he managed, He always did everything on time, he always spent time with his family and he always managed to make her feel like she was important, He was never late to anything and he was always organised and ready for everything that he had to do.  
With a smile on her face thinking about how proud she was of her boyfriend she walked into the kitchen looking around for the twins but her mission was at a fail in the first room, all she found was Mr. Weasley looking out of the Kitchen window, she could tell he had been stood in here for a while just by how comfy he looked and how composed he was.  
"Fantastic night wasn't it Hermione"  
Mr. Weasley was obviously aware of Hermione's entrance to the kitchen and he struck up a conversation with her.  
He was always such a friendly man; if she had to compare him to any of his children she'd say he was much more like a mixture of Charlie and the Twins.  
He was kind and looked out for everybody, his family always came first and his wife would always be the only woman in his eyes. Something Charlie adapted to his life very well, Hope could argue and argue with him but Charlie could always find a way with words and could always make her out to be number one, something she found very very impressive.  
But he was always so fascinated with everything, in his case Muggle artefacts, something that the twins seemed to have picked up on when it came to their practical jokes and there fireworks.  
In fact it was his fascination that made it so easy for the pair to get on, even when they first met when Hermione was only a little girl, she always found him ever so interesting and even though she loved Mrs. Weasley as if she was a mother to her, she always felt that little bit closer to the inquisitive side of Mr. Weasley.  
"It was beautiful, you must be so proud of Charlie."  
"We're over the moon about it Hermione, Molly's ever so happy to finally have him back with us"  
Hermione smiled at the man, she could see what the excitement of having their son back had done to the both of them.  
"Of course it's fantastic, and a Professor! That's such big news, he's going to be giving Bill a run for his money pretty soon"  
"ahh, all my children are just as successful as each other in my opinion, William is a mighty fine and dedicated curse breaker and has one of thee most intelligent witches as a girlfriend, Charlie's a newly found professor at Hogwarts and has a loving girlfriend to look after him, Percy's working as a healer now, Fred and George have a shop open in diagon alley, Ron's off around the world searching for things to open his eyes, and Ginny, caption of the Holly Head harpies and Married to Harry Potter."  
Arthur just paused and smiled.  
"I must say, I've never been prouder" Hermione walked over to the man and gave him a nice hug to finish off the conversation.  
"and It's wonderful to be a part of it"  
Mr. Weasley just looked at her and she could tell that he saw her as a part of the family, she may not be blood related and she may not be married in as of yet, but it still amazed her how at home the family could make her feel.  
"BUT THAT'S RIDICULOUS CHARLIE"  
Hermione and Arthur both looked at each other swiftly after hearing the shouting and both looked a little bit worried.  
"YOU CAN'T LEAVE FOR THAT LONG WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?"  
The pair of them walked to the door and looked on into the back room where all the noise was coming from.  
It was Hope and Charlie.  
Hope carried on screaming.  
"YOU CAN'T STAY THERE OVER ALL THE HOLIDAYS YOU HAVE A FAMILY TO BE WITH, YOU HAVE TO COME HOME"  
"Hope I will be coming home for the Holiday's, just not the ones that aren't as important, I need to look after the animals, I told you this"  
Hope looked at Charlie rather condescendingly "I know that Charlie, but I thought you were lying or something. You can't expect me to stay here, You parents are fantastic, but I can't put up with your brothers alone, They'll drive me insane"

Hermione and Arthur again just looked at each other and they could tell by the look in each other's eyes that they both felt for Charlie in the argument, but the both knew it was just something that the both of them would have to sort out themselves, the couple were no strangers to argument so they were sure they'd get over it soon enough.  
"Any Idea where the Twins are Mr Weasley"  
Hermione was clearly trying to stop the two of them from eves dropping on the conversation by changing the subject.  
"How many times young lady, It's Arthur, but I'm not 100% they're probably upstairs doing something daft that will get them a good earful from their mother"  
Hermione just giggled to herself and went to the door across the room and go upstairs, she didn't quite feel like interrupting the couple during their argument.  
Just as she began to walk towards the door she looked backwards and noticed that Mr. Weasley had already poked his head back around the door and was watching Hope and Charlie argue and she chuckled to herself, as she reached the door she opened it and set for her way up the stairs.  
It was a nice open stair case and you could see all the way up to the top floor, it was by no means a fancy staircase, and it looked like if you took one step you'd end up back to the bottom floor by going through it, but nothing like that ever happened, in fact the stares didn't even creek when you walked up them, the walls around it were all decorated with pictures of the family and friends, A portrait was hanging just as she got to the second floor landing, Percy was missing from it but the rest of the family were still there, it was obviously from the time that the family were arguing, Ron was in his Hogwarts uniform, something that made Hermione chuckle to herself, she hadn't seen Ron since he set off for France, They'd write to each other every few days so she knew what he was up too but she did miss him terribly.  
Bill's hair was shorter and he looked much younger, he was shaven and a little less muscly at this point, something again that made her chuckle, she didn't know Bill at this point, or Charlie who had hair down to his shoulders in the picture, that was the only difference from him then and now, now he has short hair, not to short but short enough to look smart and rather attractive at the same time. But he was still the same buffed up muscly boy that he had always been.  
Looking at Ginny, Fred and George was no big deal she's seen the three of them grow up, but she didn't really realise just how much they had, the Twins were so much taller than they used to be, they were once nice and short but now the both of them reach about 6'2. It was about this time in the picture that she remembered she'd formed her close friendship to Fred Weasley, She was never as close to George until the night they needed each other the most, and that was a good year or two off this picture, it was weird looking at George and then thinking about what happened, it made her feel rather odd and Ginny was so cute and small, but now she was turning into a beautiful woman.  
It was a splendidly beautiful family.  
"What're you staring at Granger"  
Hermione jumped at the popping noise behind her.  
"Fred, Stop doing that"  
"Yeah Fred! Don't scare the poor girl. She's only small"  
George moved to the side of Hermione and put his arm on her shoulder showing the height difference.  
Hermione just rolled her eyes and pushed his arm off her shoulder.  
"Funny George"  
she muttered with a rather un-amused tone "Oh what's up with you Granger"  
"You seem less than chirpy"  
Hermione realised she'd been a bit grumpy with the two, but she really did hate been snuck up on like that, especially when she was in deep thought.  
"No I'm good, You just startled me that's all"  
"Awh, sorry Granger, we'll try not to do it again"  
"Scouts Honour"  
The both of them just put their hands to their hearts and winked at her and she just replied with a smile and nod of her head.  
"Well can you believe it, Charlie, and Professor, and all this time we thought it'd be you"  
Hermione just laughed "We'll I'd love to be a professor but, My career is doing pretty well at the moment"  
"Yeah but god old Hermione, In a uniform, who could resist"  
George just winked at her and nudged her arm laughing "Besides, you love being bossy, teaching is your perfect job!"  
Hermione just rolled her eyes at the pair, they'd always told her that being a professor would suit her, it's always something she'd wanted to do, but she never wanted to leave her job, she got more pay for what she did at the moment and she thought that leaving that to teach would be a more than awful idea "Well I'm glad you boys have my best interest at heart but really, I'm happy with my job, besides, I couldn't be away from your brother for that long. Charlie hasn't even gone and Hope's going pretty mental"  
"Oh I'm sure George will manage without you for a few months"  
Fred laughed and nodded towards George and George just laughed, Hermione just rolled her eyes and didn't reply to the sneaky comment "Well I'm pretty sure Charlie could get you some kind of Job there, remember all you have to do is ask and he'll get you it, you know you want it, why do you never take a chance, just seize the moment and do it, You used to be like that"  
George just looked at her and seemed more serious, she always thought the twins were joking around when they tried to get her a job at Hogwarts, she'd entertained the idea, but never fully gone through with thinking it would happen, but George did have a valid point. She would love the job, and she had a really good chance of getting it if she just asked Charlie, It would be nice to see the old school again. She always missed it when she thought back.  
She didn't really get to see much of the magical life anymore now that she wasn't learning, I mean yes she always got to learn new things with Bill teaching her, but it was never the same, she never got the same thrill from being in lessons learning all about the new world of magic, it's something she'd see as a dream to teach, not to mention she didn't exactly love the job she had now, yes it was fantastic pay and yes she did get to do some fun stuff, but it was never really what she was hoping for, nothing she could picture doing for the rest of her life.  
"Granger, oi, wake up"  
Fred walked over to Hermione and poked her in the forehead.  
"You keep getting lost in thought woman"  
Hermione just shuck her head and apologised.  
"You really are thinking about it aren't you?"  
Hermione smiled at the boys and went talk walk away from the pair down the stairs.  
"Keep your noses to yourself boys, maybe I am, maybe I'm not"  
"Well if you are, Charlie's going to be at the shop tomorrow about 2ish, pop round to see him, I'm sure we can all convince him the put in a good word if we work together."  
Hermione turned her back and started to walk back down the stairs "I'll see what I can do"  
She smiled as she walked down the stairs, she didn't know if she was smiling at the sneakiness of the boys, or the idea of getting a possible job at Hogwarts. But she couldn't stop.  
She was just thinking about how she would get home, and discuss her opportunity with Bill, hoping, praying, he would see it as good news.  
"See you tomorrow, Professor."  
The boys said in unison just before apporating away.  



End file.
